Alexander’s POV
“Something about these invoices doesn’t make sense,” Emily said, slamming the paperwork down on my desk with force. “I have been over these numbers a hundred times, and it still doesn’t balance back.”
I rose from behind my desk and went around the table.
“Calm down,” I said, sensing her frustration over the bond, and I tenderly rubbed her arm and gave her a soft smile, hoping it would calm her down. “Angelica might have made a typing error when she captured the documentation…”
I bit my tongue when Emily looked up. Hearing Angelica’s name, jealousy and annoyance flared in her blue eyes.
I internally chuckled, finding it amusing.
It was hard to control our emotions with our newfound bond, and Angelica had made it clear that she wanted a mate with me, so I could not blame Emily for acting jealous.
A dreamy smile appeared on my lips as my thoughts quickly returned to this morning when we finalized the bond.
I was excited when Emily suggested we finish the bond, but I never thought I would get as invested in it as I did.
I sighed, thinking back.
“F*ck, it was incredible!” I internally muttered to myself. Emily’s energy appeared to be something like red waves.
I was unable to take my eyes off it, and it was coming at me with force.
I gasped, feeling the dominant aura surrounding it, and it caused every hair on my body to rise.
The red waves started moving around me, and I shivered, feeling how intense they were.
“The magic in her blood is strong,” Ghost said.
That fact seemed to worry him, and my attention shifted to him.
Just as I was, he was observing intently, and I was taken aback to see that Ghost appeared to be quite content with the situation rather than concerned.
“How strong is it?” I asked.
“What? Her magic?” He asked, lifting his gaze toward me.
“Yes,” I said. “What else are you referring to?”
“Emily and you are equally skilled in human form,” he said. “But compared to you, Emily’s magic is far more powerful.”
“Do I need to worry?” I inquired, but before Ghost could answer my question, a woman’s hysterical scream chimed in my ears, and a cold hand shook me wildly.
“What’s happening?” I asked, seeing everything around me start spinning out of control.
“Emily’s magic is trying to access yours,” Ghost said.
My breathing became shallow, and my surroundings seemed to be closing in. My throat felt constricted, like someone was holding my throat and strangling me. I gasped for air.
Was I about to die under our mate bond?
“What do I do?” I coughed. “How do I stop it?”
“The only way is to accept it!” He yelled back at me. “Don’t fight it! It is stronger than you!”
“But will it…?” I asked.
“Does it matter? Do you want to die?” Ghost cut me off.
I wasn’t sure what to do, and the feeling of suffocating under the immense power held me on my knees as I took my last breaths.
I closed my eyes for a second, threw my arms wide open, and took a deep, uneven breath.
“Come to me!” I yelled out to it with all my strength.
It went dead silent around me, and when I opened my eyes, the magic moved right through me, knocking me out.
“Alex! Alex!” Emily’s hysterical voice rang in my ears as someone tapped the side of my face. “Alex, are you okay? Alex, answer me!”
I moaned, feeling disoriented, and tried to push myself up.
“No, no, no,” Emily said, pushing me down. “Lay still!”
“Why? W-w-what happened?” I groaned, looking at my surroundings, confused.
Weren’t I just observing our bond forming and our magic merging?
“You passed out during marking. You were burning up,” Emily replied, taking my temperature. “I have been trying to wake you for the last twenty minutes. Luke had called the doctor.”
Emily looked worried.
“I’m okay now,” I said, trying to give her a reassuring smile, but I couldn’t help but worry.
Did I lose a part of me? Did I lose my magic?
Yet, everything looked and felt perfectly fine.
I didn’t feel any different, except having to feel Emily’s emotions moving between the mate bond.
The doctor came and did his check-up, found nothing out of the ordinary, and told me I was good to go.
“I doubt that,” Emily spat, rolling her eyes and bringing me back to the present situation. “If you compare your bank transactions, the funds left the account. I even called the supplier to find out if they had received the money.”
“What did he have to say?” I asked, shifting my body to sit on the edge of the table.
“Too much money was paid over to them,” she replied.
“Then they should just refund us,” I said, getting off the table.
“But that is exactly the problem,” Emily said, stopping me.
I narrowed my eyebrows, confused, and turned my gaze back to Emily.
“What are you saying?” I asked, taking the papers from her.
“The supplier did refund the overpayment,” she said, gesturing to the proof of payment in her hand.
“And it is not reflected in our bank account?” I asked, my eyes widening.
“Nope,” she said, shaking her head.
“Then they must have had incorrect banking details,” I said. “That was the supplier’s mistake, and they…”
“Yeah, about that!” Emily said, cutting me off. “The supplier received a bank confirmation letter with Opal Pack’s details on it. Here look!”
Emily gestured to the email and the confirmation letter.
“You have got to be kidding me!” I said, seeing the banking details on the confirmation letter. It looked legit!
“I’m not,” Emily said with a sigh.
“Now what do I do now?” I asked, taking a seat in the small sitting area with my hands in my hair. “Angelica did most of the pack admin.”
Emily got closer and took a seat in front of me. She reached out her hand to me and I took it without hesitating.
“Do you know why I am here?” She asked, and my gaze snapped toward her.
“To investigate the rogue attacks,” I said.
Emily nodded, yet she pulled her lips in a thin line.
“That’s part of it,” she answered, getting to her feet and crossing her arms defensively around her chest.
I knew there was something Emily was hiding, but I couldn’t figure out what. She had taken care to surround her secrets with such a massive, dense, and towering wall that no one could possibly find a way through.
“Then what is the second part?” I asked, sitting back.
“The Opal Pack is under investigation,” she said.
That was the last thing I expected to hear, and it made me angry. How dare they!
“For what?” I snapped, jumping to my feet.
“The rogue-”
“I have no part in the rogue attacks,” I yelled, feeling my emotions spiral out of control, and my blood reaching boiling point.
Emily flinched and took a quick step away from me, yet I didn’t care. It was obvious she did not trust me!
How could she possibly believe that I was involved in the rogue attacks? For heaven’s sake, she is my mate!
I suddenly realized why Emily was constantly acting so wary of me. She wasn’t sure if I was part of that conspiracy!
“You believe me, don’t you?” I asked, seeking her gaze.
Emily kept quiet and nodded, but was unable to meet my gaze.
“She is withholding something,” Ghost said.
“I know,” I snapped. “I can feel her uncertainty over the bond.”
“Are you going to ask her?” Ghost asked. “Or should I rather go ask Willow?”
“I’ll do it myself,” I said. “I want to hear it coming from her!”
I turned my attention back to Emily, her gaze fixed on the papers in my hands.
“Tell me what you think you know!” I demanded.
What Emily said next made me lose hope and trust.
****